EGYPT

constitution: several previous; latest approved by a constitutional committee in December 2013, approved by referendum held on 14-15 January 2014, ratified by interim president on 19 January 2014

legal system: Based on English, Islamic and Napoleonic codes

legislative system: unicameral House of Representatives (Majlis Al-Nowaab); 596 seats; 448 members directly elected by individual candidacy system, 120 members - with quotas for women, youth, Christians and workers - elected in party-list constituencies by simple majority popular vote, and 28 members selected by the president; member term 5 years

judicial system: Supreme Constitutional Court or SCC (consists of the court president and 10 justices); the SCC serves as the final court of arbitrator on the constitutionality of laws and conflicts between lower courts regarding jurisdiction and rulings; Court of Cassation (CC) (consists of the court president and 550 judges organized in circuits with cases heard by panels of 5 judges); the CC is the highest appeals body for civil and criminal cases, also known as “ordinary justices"; Supreme Administrative Court (SAC) - consists of the court president and organized in circuits with cases heard by panels of 5 judges); the SAC is the highest court of the State Council

religion: Muslim (mostly Sunni) 90%, Coptic 9%, other Christian 1%

death row: between 580 and 590, 2 thirds of them were condemned before 2010, people are under final death sentence, according to the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) at the end of 2017

year of last executions: 0-0-0

death sentences: 28

executions: 21

international treaties on human rights and the death penalty:

International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights

Convention on the Rights of the Child

Convention Against Torture and Other Cruel, Inhuman or Degrading Treatment or Punishment

Statute of the International Criminal Court (which excludes the death penalty) (only signed)

situation:

The new Constitution approved in 2014 does not refer to capital punishment but ensures the right to life (article 59) and stipulates that Sharia law principles is a “main source for legislation”. However, art 93 states that «The State shall be bound by the international human rights agreements, covenants and conventions ratified by Egypt, and which shall have the force of law after publication in accordance with the prescribed conditions».

Capital offences number over 40 as defined by the Penal Code, the Military Code of Justice, the Arms and Ammunition Law, and the Egypt Narcotics Law.

The Egypt Penal Code, Law No. 58 of 1937, as amended by Law No. 5 of 2010, provides the death penalty as a main punishment for serious crimes (in addition to other possible alternative imprisonment sentences, the death penalty is mandatory in a few crimes, but the majority of the articles included death penalty provides alternative sentences, up to the court) for: premeditated killing (art.230), torture causing death (art. 126), use of substances/drugs resulting in death (art 233) as well as other deliberate murder if associated with another crime (arts. 234 and 375 bis first), intentional arson of a building, resulting in the deaths of persons who were present in the building at the outbreak of the fire (art. 257), kidnapping of a female aggravated by rape (including statutory rape) (art. 290); espionage "in times of war" (arts. 77-77(C), 78(A)-78(C), 78(E), 80, 81, 82(B), 83(A) cum. 86-102 Bis, 85, 86-102(2), 87 cum. 102(B), 92,) . A variety of treasonous offenses are punishable by death, such as: intentionally undermining Egypt’s independence, unity or territorial integrity; fighting against Egypt or assisting Egypt’s enemies or inciting the same; demoralizing the troops or people; undermining the defense of Egypt, particularly in time of war; breaching defense contracts at time of war; interference with the constitutional order; armed attempts to overthrow the government; or other offenses.According to art 17 of the penal code, the court has the right to reduce the punishments form death penalty to life imprisonment (20 years max.), and life imprisonment to medium imprisonmet (7 to 15 years), and medium imprisonment to regular imprisonment (3 to 7 years).This redusction wouldn't be aplicable for articles 86, 87, 88 & 89 unless the articles gives alternative punishemnt (Example: Death Penalty or Life Imprisonment).In all other chapters, death penalty might be reduced by the court.

Martial Rules Law. In crimes of war related to the enemy, captives, the wounded and instances of rebellion, capital punishment is prescribed in articles 130 -132-133-134-135-136-138-139-140-141-151 -154 for a number of military offenses not resulting in death may be punishable by death, such as desertion, insubordination, looting, dereliction of duty, ill-treatment of the wounded, assisting the enemy and abuse of power (see also: arts. 77(B), 80, 85, 295 of the penal code).Death penalty isn't deem necessary the only punishment, it is optional in all those articles, 2 pragraphs in article 133 & 135 make it the only punishment.Its worh mentioning that 2014 constitution has kept a possible military trial for non military enmates conditioning the accused persons has been accused for committing crimes against the armed forces and its venues, Arab Organisation for Human Rights (AOHR) and other Human Rights groups has stood against keeping this exception, rather the fact it is a huge progress comparing to 1971 Constitution and 2013 Constitution, both has kept it open without any limitations, and in practice the most dangerous terrorist groups, such as Qaeda, ISIS and the Brotherhood armed wing (Hassm) are trialed by the military courts.

if the accused person fails to engage counsel, the court must appoint a lawyer to perform this function, at the State’s expense (Code of Criminal Procedures, arts. 381);

a death sentence can be pronounced only by a unanimous decision and after consultation with the Mufti of the Republic. The sentence can be appealed by means of a legal challenge and a request for a retrial (Code of Criminal Procedures, art. 381). Mufti didn't approve death penalty for many cases, and in many other cases didn't aprove death penalty for most of the accused persons, and rather his opinion is consultative, but courts do resepect his opinion.

the Department of Public Prosecutions must appeal death sentences delivered in the presence of the parties to the Court of Cassation in order to ensure the proper application of the law, even if the condemned person has not lodged an appeal with the Court (article 46 of Act No. 57 of 1959, concerning the circumstances and procedures for lodging an appeal with the Court of Cassation); the file pertaining to a case in which a final sentence of death has been delivered must be transmitted to the President of the Republic through the Minister of Justice so that the person may exercise his right to a pardon or to commutation of the sentence (Code of Criminal Procedures, art. 470); the President is entitled to reduce the sentence to imprisonment or full amnesty when the verdict is final.

The penalty may not be executed on official holidays or days that the faith of the condemned person regards as special feast days (Code of Criminal Procedures, art. 475); the execution of a penalty of death imposed on a pregnant woman shall be suspended until she has been delivered of her child (Code of Criminal Procedures, art. 476); the death penalty shall not be imposed on persons under the age of 18 (The Children’s Act No. 12 of 1998, art. 112); the relatives of a condemned person may meet with him on the day appointed for execution of the sentence and shall be provided with facilities to perform the religious rites required by the faith of the condemned person (the Criminal Code, art. 472).

Egypt has expanded its application of capital punishment since former President Hosni Mubarak took office in 1981 as well as after his resignation in 2011 and the ouster of President Morsi in 2014. Under the nation’s legal system, death sentences are referred from criminal court judges to the Grand Mufti of Al-Azhar, the country’s top religious leader, for a non-binding review. First instance death sentences are subject to appeal in the Court of Cassation, which may decide to confirm criminal courts’ rulings, making them final, or revoke them, in which case the trial would be repeated in another criminal court that belongs to a different circuit. If the second criminal court issues a second ruling, it could be appealed at the Court of Cassation, which may accept the appeal, repeat the trial and issue a final sentence, or it may reject the appeal, in which case a criminal court’s second ruling is considered final.

Executions cannot take place on public holidays or religious holidays in accordance with the religion of the accused.

State of emergency laws - imposed in 1981 after Islamic extremists assassinated President Anwar Sadat - allow the government to try militants in a military court without the right of appeal. Since 1981 thousands of militants have been arrested and scores put to death. In 1999 the Government abolished an article of the Penal Code that permitted a rapist to be absolved of criminal charges if he married his victim. However, marital rape is not illegal. In June 2003, Egypt outlawed forced labour as a form of punishment. On 11 February 2011, following an 18-day popular uprising, Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign. As a consequence of the “revolution” of 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces (SCAF) took the power to “temporarily administer the affairs of the Country.” The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces maintained the state of emergency that had been in effect for three decades, and thousands of civilians were tried in military courts since the SCAF assumed power in February 2011. The special courts, which often group dozens of defendants together before a military judge, are notorious for their quick and severe sentences. Defendants are regularly denied access to legal counsel and verdicts cannot be appealed. In July 2011, the SCAF insisted that only cases of “thuggery” associated with weapons, rape or assault of military personnel were being referred to military courts. However, military courts continue to rule on cases ranging from petty theft to violent crime, handing down sentences of six months to 25 years in prison. The SCAF said military trials were necessary due to the spiralling crime rates that accompanied the uprising that led to Mubarak’s ouster. “No civilian should be tried in front of military courts,” SCAF member Major-General Mamdouh Shaheen told reporters. “But in this emergency situation... military courts took the place of civilian courts until they were able to work.” The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces also added new offences to the already wide range of capital crimes. On 10 March 2011, the Supreme Council of the Armed Forces issued a decree (Law 7 of 2011), amending the 1937 Penal Code with two articles on “Hooliganism, Terrorizing and Thuggery”, for which “the penalty shall be death if the crime is preceded or accompanied or associated with or followed by the felony of murder.” On 1 April 2011, Egypt’s military decided to authorize execution as a punishment for convicted rapists. The Supreme Council of the Armed Forces said it would allow the death sentence for rapists whose victims are under 18 or in cases where the perpetrator has a special connection with the victim, such as being the victim’s guardian or employee. The SCAF relinquished power on 30 June 2012, immediately after the election of Mohamed Morsi, a leading figure in the Muslim Brotherhood, as the new President of Egypt. However, President Mohamed Morsi spent one year in office ending in July 2013, when the army deposed him after mass protests against his rule. On 27 May 2014, the former head of the Army, Abdel-Fattah al-Sisi, was elected the new President of Egypt.

The war on terror The ouster of Islamist President Mohamed Morsi in July 2013 has triggered a wave of attacks on the security forces in North Sinai and further west in the towns and cities of the Nile Valley and Delta. The army-ruled Government has blamed Morsi’s Muslim Brotherhood and their Islamist allies for orchestrating the violence and plotting against the country. The Muslim Brotherhood itself was dissolved by the supreme administrative court in September 2013 and was designated a terrorist group in December 2013. Therefore, all its activities were banned. On 9 August 2014, the supreme administrative court also dissolved the Freedom and Justice Party (FJP), the political wing of the banned Muslim Brotherhood. The court’s ruling excludes the Brotherhood as a whole from formal participation in electoral politics, potentially forcing the mouvement underground. The FJP was established in June 2011, in the aftermath of the uprising that removed Hosni Mubarak from power after 30 years. On 3 April 2014, the Egyptian Government approved a new anti-terrorism law, in the wake of a terrorist attack outside Cairo University on 2 April. The counter-terrorism law had been amended as it went through the House, and that it had been referred to interim President Adly Mansour for ratification. The new law increases the punishment for terrorism-related crimes and expands the scope of crimes that fall into this category. The amendments called for the death penalty for any person convicted of terrorism-related crimes, in addition to expanding the powers of security officers to enforce counter-terrorism laws. The law also reportedly mandates harsher prison sentences for those found guilty of the crime of promoting terrorist organizations, including on the Internet. A wide and vaguely-defined range of terrorism-related offenses not necessarily resulting in death are punishable by death.Under article 86 of the Egyptian Penal Code (*), the terrorism means “any use of force, violence, threats or intimidation to which an offender resorts in order to put into effect an individual or collective criminal plan designed to disrupt public order or endanger public safety and security by harming or terrorizing persons, jeopardizing their lives, freedoms or security, damaging the environment, damaging or seizing control of public or private communications, transport, assets, buildings or property, preventing or obstructing the functioning of public authorities, places of worship or academic institutions or rendering the Constitution, the laws or regulations inoperative.” The penalties applied to terrorism are reproduced in article 86 bis of the Penal Code and the penalty of death or hard labour for life has been introduced for using the method of terrorism in realising or excecuting association, corportion, organization, group or band and providing arms, ammunitions, explosives, materials, machines, funds, property or information (article 86 bis, paragraph (a). The same penalty is prescribed in case of the victim’s death in an attempt to force people to join or maintain membership in anti-state or terrorist organizations (article 86 bis, paragraph (b). If with a foreign country or with an association, corportion, organization, group or band whose headquarter is based abroad or with any of those who work in the interest of any of them and also communicate with them, to carry out a terroristic act inside Egypt or against its properties, insitutions, civil servants, diplomatic reprsentatives, or its citizens, in the course of their duties or during their being abroad, if the crime occurr or is attemped (art. 86 bis C). Causing death in conjunction with a hijacking of any form of transportation (art. 88), while keeping in hostage a person with the aim to influence the public authorities or obtaining a benefit or privilege of any kind from them (art. 88 bis), while resisting to authorities assigned to the executions of the provisions of Section 1, Part 2 “Prejudice to the Government” (art. 88 bis A) or in conjuction with the destruction of a government facility, utility or place for public use (art. 90). The use of explosive with the intention to commit crimes of art 87 (overthrow or change the constitution or the republican regime) or with the purpose of political assasination or damaging public properties (102 bis B) is punished with death meanwhile the in case of use or attempt to use explosive in a way liable to expose people’s life to a danger is punished by death in case the explosion cause death (ar. 102 bis C). Usurping military authority or leading armed gangs for criminal purposes (art. 91 and 93) is punishable by death. On 17 January 2016, the Parliament overwhelmingly endorsed a controversial anti-terrorism law that sets up special courts and increases authorities’ power to impose heavy sentences, including the death penalty, for crimes under a definition of terrorism that is so broadly worded it could encompass civil disobedience, potentially criminalizing even private expressions of opposition to the government. The law will affect any person or group designated under Egypt’s Terrorist Entities Law, issued in February 2015, which created a procedure for courts to approve prosecutors’ nominations of individuals or groups as officially designated terrorists. The new law shields the military and the police from legal penalties for what it considers “proportionate use of force” and gives prosecutors greater power to detain suspects without judicial review and order wide-ranging and potentially indefinite surveillance of terrorist suspects without a court order. It also makes anyone judged to have facilitated, incited, or agreed to a vaguely defined terrorist crime liable for the same penalty that they would receive if they had committed that crime, even if the crime did not occur.

An unprecedented number of death penalties have been meted out in Egypt following the ouster of Mohamed Morsi. In response, a group of public figures in Egypt, including renowned writer Ahdaf Soueif, human rights lawyers Gamal Eid and Emad Mubarak, writer and director Khaled al-Khamissi and political figure Amr Hamzawy, have launched a campaign against capital punishment. The group decries “the apparent deterioration in the justice and legal system in Egypt,” as well as the use of torture to extract confessions in several cases, which is “worrying when it comes to a penalty that cannot be reversed,” their statement said. Other human rights organizations, including the Arab Network for Human Rights Information, the Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and the Egyptian Center for Economic and Social Rights, also issued a joint statement expressing fear “of expanding the use of the death penalty in light of the recent escalation of repressive measures against political opposition.”

Since Morsi’s ouster in July 2013, Egypt’s military-backed government has waged a relentless crackdown on political dissent – largely targeting Morsi supporters – which has seen hundreds killed and thousands detained, and an unprecedented number of death penalties that have been meted out. From July 2013 to 3 February 2016, out of a total of about 1,700 preliminary death sentences for violence-related charges referred to the Grand Mufti, more than 1,000 did not see a confirmation and the defendants were instead given sentences other than the death penalty or acquitted. Out of the 687 people initially sentenced to death, more than 500 have been re-tried after their verdicts were examined and rejected by the Court of Cassation. The others remained under examination, and only one was finally sentenced, as of 3 February 2016. Death sentences that were subject to appeal in the Court of Cassation included President Mohamed Morsi and Spiritual Guide Mohamed Badie, who were convicted in the jailbreak case of Muslim Brotherhood leaders in January 2011 (all death sentences were upheld on 16 June 2015). The United Nations and several international human rights organizations expressed concern and questioned the fairness of proceedings against so many defendants lasting just few hours. Human Rights Watch described the trials as a “blatant and fundamental violation of the right to a fair trial guaranteed by the Egyptian constitution and international law.” In 2015, 7 people were executed for terrorism or political violent acts. In 2016, 1 man was executed for terrorism or political violent acts. Of the 237 new death sentences issued, according to Amnesty International, 44 were for terrorism related crimes. On 15 December 2016, Egypt executed prominent Islamist fighter Adel Habara, 40, who was sentenced to death in 2014 for killing 25 army conscripts in Northern Sinai in August 2013. Habara had been taken from his cell at the maximum security Aqrab, or Scorpion, jail in Cairo to the Court of Cassation, where he was hanged in the presence of judicial officials. Habara's appeal was rejected by the Court of Cassation on 10 December. In 2017, 15 men were executed for terrorism.

Top secret death There is very little official data available on death sentences and executions in Egypt, where news of executions rarely filtered through to the local media. Condemned prisoners are not told the date and time of their execution, and in practice their families are not made aware of the execution until they are called to collect the body – despite claims by the Egyptian authorities that relatives are permitted to visit the condemned person on the day appointed for execution. The authorities never disclose how many people are awaiting execution. The avarage before 2011 were approximately 19 executions/year

The total executions carried out between 1906 and till 2014, were (approximately) 1429 according to academical studies. After a de facto moratorium dating back to 2011, in 2014 Egypt carried out at least 9 executions, of which only 8 were reported by local newspapers. The last known executions were carried out in 2011 (at least 1), in 2010 (at least 5) and 2009 (at least 5).In 2014: 9In 2015: 15, 7 for terrorism or political violent actsIn 2016: 16, 1 for terrorismIn 2017: 31, 15 for terrorism

At least 17 death sentences were imposed in 2011 according to the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR).In 2012 : 91In 2013 : 109In 2014 : at least 730 (there is a great difference between refering the 1491 condemned accused persons to the grand Mufti and the actual final verdicts, the final verdicts included aprroximately 730 defendants)In 2015 : at least 538In 2016 : at least 237In 2017: 526, according to the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR): 479 by ordinary penal courts and 47 by military penal courts.

Between 580 and 590, 2 thirds of them were condemned before 2010, people are under final death sentence, according to the Arab Organization for Human Rights (AOHR) at the end of 2017

The death penalty on womenUnder Article 476 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a pregnant woman cannot be executed until two months after her child’s birth. Additionally, Egypt is party to the ICCPR, which prohibits the execution of pregnant women. Women with small children, under Article 476 of the Criminal Procedure Code, a pregnant woman cannot be executed until two years after her child’s birth.In 2016, at least 11 women have been senteced to death and one woman was executed.

United Nations In November 2014, Egypt was reviewed under the Universal Periodic Review of the UN Human Rights Council. The Government rejected those to consider ratifying the Second Optional Protocol to the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights and establish an official moratorium on executions with a view to abolishing the death penalty. On December 19, 2016, Egypt voted again against the Resolution on a Moratorium on the Use of the Death Penalty at the UN General Assembly.

An Egyptian court has referred the case of 13 defendants facing terrorism charges to the country's top religious authority, the Grand Mufi, for a non-binding opinion on whether they can be potentially executed as the prosecution seeks.The Ismailia Criminal Court says on May 14 that they are members of a local affiliate of the Islamic State group in the restive northern Sinai peninsula.The men are accused of killing two people, including a police officer, while trying to escape from their prison in the Suez Canal city of Ismailia in October.The verdict can be appealed, and the presiding judge may rule independently of the Mufti.The verdict is set for July 12.

(Sources: Ap, 14/05/2018)

02 May 2018 :

Egypt’s highest appellate court confirmed the death penalty for six people in connection with violence in the wake of the ouster of former President Mohamed Morsi in 2013. The Court of Cassation upheld the death sentences against the six after being convicted of storming a police station in Minya in central Egypt and killing a security official, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to media.The court also commuted the death sentences handed down against six other defendants to life in prison, the source said.The appellate court also confirmed life sentences against 59 defendants and cleared 47 other people in the same case, according to the source.The verdicts are final and cannot be appealed.

(Sources: aa.com.tr, 28/04/2018)

26 April 2018 :

Egypt’s Giza Criminal Court handed down a death sentence to the killer of Abu Dhabi Islamic Bank (ADIB) CEO Nevine Loutfy, who was found dead inside her house in Cairo’s 6 October City in 2016.Kareem Saber Abdel-Moty was convicted of premeditated murder, posession of drugs and a blade weapon as well as motor vehicle theft.The sentence was handed down after Abdel-Moty had received a preliminary death sentence pending a non-binding opinion by Egypt’s Grand Mufti in January 2018, nearly two years after he killed the female Egyptian CEO in November 2016.The sentence can still be appealed. Abdel-Moty worked as a security guard for a year and a half in the compound where then-64-year-old Loutfy resided. He left the job a few months carrying out the murder.According to reports on police investigations at the time, Abdel-Moty knew that Loutfy lived alone and he was able to disable surveillance cameras prior to the act.He entered her villa through a bathroom window and found Loutfy awake in her bedroom, leading to a struggle before he stabbed her multiple times.Saber was later apprehended Loutfy’s car, iPad, mobile phone and 5,000 dirhams (about EGP 20,000) in his possession.

(Source: Ahram Online, 24/04/2018)

12 April 2018 :

An Egyptian court sentenced 11 people to death by hanging for involvement in a deadly gunfire over car washing, semi-official newspaper Al Ahram reported.The sentences were issued by the Cairo Criminal Court against the 11 defendants convicted of murder, show of force and terrorizing the public, according to the report.The convicts include six brothers.The verdict can be appealed.Two people were killed and five injured in the gunbattle that dates back to April last year in the working-class area of Old Cairo.The court was told that the fight started with a fracas after one of the convicts blocked the traffic in a local street by washing cars as a source of a livelihood. Soon, the quarrel developed into a pitched fight between relatives of both sides, who used firearms.The two dead were pedestrians, who were caught in the crossfire, according to police investigations.In recent months, Egyptian authorities have toughened penalties against using water in car washing and spraying streets in an attempt to conserve water. Offenders can face a fine of 20,000 Egyptian pounds (Dh4,246) and a jail term of up to six months.

(Sources: Gulf News, 11/04/2018)

11 April 2018 :

A Cairo military court sentenced 36 people to death over their involvement in attacks against Coptic churches in Egypt, defence lawyers said.According to the lawyers, 48 people have been put on trial in connection with attacks on Coptic churches in the cities of Cairo, Tanta and Alexandria between 2016 and 2017.The attacks, claimed by the Islamic State jihadist group, killed at least 80 people.The court's verdict now has to be considered by Egypt's Grand Mufti, as is required by law.

(Sources: AFP, 11/04/2018)

03 April 2018 :

Egypt’s Court of Cassation upheld a death sentence for a man convicted of murdering Alexandria liquor store owner Youssef Lamei.The court's decision confirmed the death sentence by rejecting an appeal from the 48-year-old man Adel Abdel-Nour, known as Assaliya.The decision, which cannot be appealed, comes nearly a year after an Alexandria criminal court sentenced Abdel-Nour to death a few months after the same court issued a preliminary death sentence pending the non-binding consultative opinion of the country’s grand mufti, as per Egypt's penal code.Footage of the killing went viral on social media last year. In the video, the bearded Abdel-Nour slashes the storeowner's throat twice from behind with a knife as the victim was smoking hookah in front of his store.Investigators at the time said Abdel-Nour confessed to the killing, and said that he had warned Lamei against selling alcohol multiple times.The sale of alcohol in Egypt is permitted and regulated by state authorities.

(Sources: Ahram Online, 01/04/2018)

06 April 2018 :

Ahmed Samir Radwan 22 years old and Abdo Mohamed Ezzat Abdel Majeed 24 years were executed by hanging in the case of killing a student in the first grade secondary in the east.

(Source: AOHR)

13 March 2018 :

The Damanhour Criminal Court has issued a preliminary death sentence against a man convicted of killing a family of four in Beheira Governorate in 2017.The sentence has been referred to Egypt's grand mufti for his non-binding opinion on whether it should be carried out.The case dates back to last year's Eid Al-Adha religious feast, when residents of Ezbet-Hawy village, within the district of Kafr El-Dawar, discovered the bodies of four family members slaughtered inside their home.Police arrested a man from the same village on suspicion of the massacre.Investigators stated that he spent the evening with the family and later burgled the house, killing the husband, wife and two children in the process.If the grand mufti gives his approval to the death sentence, it will be issued as a final sentence and the execution will follow.

(Sources: Ahram Online, 12 Mar 2018)

14 March 2018 :

The Criminal Court in Sharqia Governorate chaired by Chancellor Mahmud Al Kahky has upheld decision of the Grand Mufti to sentence to death a housewife and her lover for murdering the husband and an angler wants to bed her. The murdered angler bided to exploit the event to copulate the two murders. But they hurried to get rid of him. It is worth to mention that Director of Security of Sharqia has received a notification from the Criminal Police about finding a body of an angler hit to the head in a water trench at Mynia Al Qamh District. The husband was informed on an outlawed relationship between his wife and a lover. He threatened to divorce her. However the convicts decided to murder him and pretend that an animal kicked him in the neck. The angler told the convicts that he saw them carrying the body of the murdered husband. He wanted to bed her to keep the cat in bag.

(Sources: en.el-balad.com, 12/03/2018)

12 February 2018 :

Egypt’s high military appeals court upheld death sentences handed to two defendants over the August 2013 murder of two police personnel in North Sinai.A first-degree military court originally sentenced the pair to death in 2015 for their involvement in the militant attack on Al-Gora checkpoint in the North Sinai city of Al-Arish, and for possessing illegal firearms.The attack resulted in the deaths of two police conscripts and injured another officer.The ruling cannot be appealed.

(Sources: english.ahram.org.eg, 06/02/2018)

06 February 2018 :

Giza Criminal Court sentenced three defendants to death, Salem Hafez Rabeh, Sa'ad Zaghloul Saad and Hisham Ibrahim Abdel Halim, in their re-trail over killing a person and attempted murder of two others including a child in the light of a blood-feud revenge between the two sides. This case is known publicly as Awsim blood-feud revenge. The case is n. 14494 of the year 2015 known as "events of the gathering Osim.The prosecution referred the defendants to trial in charges of crowding that could disrupt public safety and the possession of firearms.

(Sources: ElBalad, 03/02/2018)

07 March 2018 :

an Egyptian court sentenced 19 Muslim defendants to a suspended sentence of one year for attacking an unlicensed church south of Cairo.A verdict was handed down Wednesday at the Misdemeanor Court. The defendants will not have to serve prison time unless they are in trouble again. Separately, the Coptic Christian accused was fined 360,000 Egyptian pounds (about $ 20,383) for the construction of the unlicensed church. The incident occurred on 22 December when dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the building and raided it. Destroyed the contents of the church and assaulted the Christians inside before the security forces arrived and dispersed them. The church in Giza outside the capital Cairo hasnot yet been punished by the state but has arrived for 15 years. Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's Muslim population.

(Source: breaking112.com)

02 February 2018 :

an Egyptian court sentenced 19 Muslim defendants to a suspended sentence of one year for attacking an unlicensed church south of Cairo.A verdict was handed down Wednesday at the Misdemeanor Court. The defendants will not have to serve prison time unless they are in trouble again. Separately, the Coptic Christian accused was fined 360,000 Egyptian pounds (about $ 20,383) for the construction of the unlicensed church.The incident occurred on 22 December when dozens of demonstrators gathered outside the building and raided it. Destroyed the contents of the church and assaulted the Christians inside before the security forces arrived and dispersed them. The church in Giza outside the capital Cairo has not yet been punished by the state but has arrived for 15 years. Christians make up about 10 percent of Egypt's Muslim population.

(Source: breaking112.com, 31/01/2018)

25 January 2018 :

Egyptian prison authorities have executed an Egyptian man on charges of killing an Egyptian army officer in the Ismailia province in 2013. A military court sentenced Mohammed Ahmed Mohammed Abu Sarie to death after his conviction of killing 35-year-old Armed Forces officer Lieutenant Colonel Ahmed Farouq Mandour. Abu Sarie was accused of shooting Colonel Ahmed with an automatic weapon, according to Egyptian newspapers. The execution took place in a Cairo prison, after the Military Court in Ismailia approved the death sentence, adding that the defendant was a member of the now-outlawed Muslim Brotherhood group.According to arabi21.com the number of executions related to violence under the head of the coup authority, Abdul Fattah al-Sisi, has reached 27 since he took office in June 2014.

(Sources: aawsat.com, 24/01/2018)

22 January 2018 :

Egypt’s highest appellate court upheld death sentences handed down against three people for killing a senior police officer in 2013.The three were sentenced to death by a lower degree court in a retrial in 2016 on charges of killing the officer during violence in Kerdasa village, west of Cairo, in 2013 following the ouster of former president Mohamed Morsi in a military court.The three filed an appeal against the verdict, but it was rejected by the Court of Cassation, which confirmed the sentence on January 20, a judicial source said on condition of anonymity because he was unauthorized to speak to media.The court also reduced the death sentences against four other defendants to life in prison. Five people were also slapped with a 5-year jail term each in the same case.January 20 verdicts are final and cannot be appealed.Egypt was roiled by violence after the military deposed and imprisoned Morsi, the country’s first freely elected president, in a coup.

(Sources: aa.com.tr, 20/01/2018)

01 March 2018 :

the Court of Cassation upheld death sentences passed down on three defendants over the murder of a high-ranking police officer in rural Kerdasa town in September 2013 in the aftermath of Islamist president Mohamed Morsi’s ouster. The court commuted four other death sentences to life imprisonment in the same case. It also confirmed 10-year jail sentences on five others. The defendants were convicted of the September 2013 murder of police officer Nabil Farag as well as the attempted murder of other police officer during a subsequent raid by security forces on terrorist hideouts in Kerdasa. They were also convicted of possessing arms and explosives manufactured to use against the state. Saturday’s ruling comes following an appeal against death sentences passed down in the case on seven defendants in September 2016. Kerdasa is known to be a stronghold of the banned Muslim Brotherhood group.

(Sources: http://english.ahram.org.eg)

07 February 2018 :

North Cairo Criminal court issues final verdict in the trial of a man charged with killing a Coptic priest and injuring another in Cairo.Earlier, Ahmed El-Sonbaty who was detained on charges of killing the Coptic priest Rev. Semaan Shehata، referred to Egypt's Grand Mufti for opinion on death sentence. His lawyer، Mahmoud Orabi said that defendant is mentally ill، while prosecutor Nageeb Jibreel recommended capital punishment، saying that the suspect has deliberately committed a murderer killing Rev. Shehata. During today’s trial، Said handed a paper in his handwriting to the judge، admitting that former Ahly player Mohamed Aboutrika had incited him to commit the murder. His confession included other allegedly prominent Muslim Brotherhood (MB) affiliates، including Ahly former captain and director of the ball، Hady Khashaba، Mohammed Badie the Supreme Guide of the MB and his vise chairman Essam el Erian، who was also a member of the Guidance Bureau of the Muslim Brotherhood. The priest، Samaan Shehta، was attacked by a "young unemployed man" in front of his vehicle and was then hit in the head with a cleaver before the assailant ran away. A video of the attack was posted on Facebook and shows citizens attempting to aid the wounded priest on the ground.Another priest who was with Shehta, identified as Benjamin Moftah, was also assaulted though his condition has not yet been revealed. The prosecution charged forty-year-old Ahmed El-Sonbaty with premeditated murder in the killing of Arc Priest Samaan Shehataa, who hailed from Beni Suef Governorate in Upper Egypt, in El-Salam City east pf Cairo last Thursday. Evidence against the defendant includes a confession، witness statements، and forensic evidence.

(Source: http://en.el-balad.com/2364183)

06 February 2018 :

three defendants, Mohammed Gamal al-Sayyed Ateyya, Mohammed Misbah Abd al-Haqq al-Sayyed, and Mohammed Ibrahim al-Baz, were executed, in case no. 93/2011/Ismailiya plenary military felonies, following a trial before a military court that did not meet fair trial standards. With this, 22 civilians have now been put to death following military trials in just three weeks, a toll unprecedented in Egypt’s modern history.According to information from the families of the defendants, the case originated in March 2011, when Gamal al-Sayyed and Mohammed Misbah Abd al-Haqq returned to their home in Gamasa and found two people there, whom they kicked out. The two people, a man and a woman, went to the Ismailiya police station and filed a report alleging theft and rape against them. The third defendant was added to the case later. Although the woman did not undergo a forensic examination or tests necessary to corroborate the veracity of the allegations, the Ismailiya military court sentenced the three defendants to death on April 10, 2011, after just one trial session convened in the absence of defense attorneys. The sentence was upheld by the High Court for Military Appeals on April 11, 2017.Rights groups condemned the execution and had previously expressed their rejection of the prosecution of civilians in military courts, as well as the issuance of death sentences by these courts. The defense counsel had filed a petition for reconsideration of this case, and the military court had set a session to hear the petition on February 25, 2018. Carrying out the executions ahead of the scheduled hearing is therefore a grave violation of the law and shows absolute disregard for human life. Article 448 of the Code of Criminal Procedure states, “The request for reconsideration shall not entail a stay of the sentence unless it is a death sentence.” In addition, Article 1308 of the General Directives for Prosecutions in Criminal Matters states, “The request for reconsideration shall not entail a stay of the sentence unless it is a death sentence.” In short, a request for a sentencing reconsideration only suspends implementation of a sentence in one case: when the sentence is death.According to a member of the No to Military Trials for Civilians group who visited the defendants in 2014, Mohammed Gamal al-Sayyed still bore visible signs of torture some three years after the arrest. No reports on the torture were filed and no orders were issued to refer the defendants to the forensic medical examiner.The undersigned organizations and groups reiterate that the continued issuance of death sentences does not mean justice is served. Continuing to carry out these sentences issued by military tribunals undermines the values of justice and life, and we fear further executions given this unprecedented rate. In 2017, death sentences issued against at least 26 people were affirmed, and their lives could be ended at any moment.

(Source: cihrs.org, 09/01/2018)

02 February 2018 :

an Egyptian military court issued preliminary death sentenced against eight defendants on a charge of murdering a senior police officer in Cairo in 2015.The court referred the eight defendants to the Grand Mufti, the country’s top religious authority, for his opinion on the sentences. The Mufti is usually consulted before death sentences become final. His opinion is, however, not binding. Defendants in the case include prominent Islamic scholar Yusef Al-Qaradawi, who heads the International Union for Muslim Scholars, as well as senior members of the Muslim Brotherhood. The case includes 52 defendants, eight of whom were handed down preliminary death sentences. Wael Tahoun, the head of the notorious police station of Matariya in Cairo, was assassinated in 2015. Human rights organisations and activists said that detainees were tortured to death in the police facility he supervised.The Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights, commonly known as EIPR, described the police station as a “slaughterhouse.” The court accused the defendants of membership in an outlawed group, in reference to the Muslim Brotherhood, as well as seeking to obstruct the operation of state institutions and violation of citizens’ rights. The military court set 17th January for issuing a final ruling in the case.

Egypt's highest appeals court upheld death sentences for four people over forming a "terrorist cell" to plot attacks on security forces and other institutions.The court of cassation also rejected an appeal by 14 other defendants against sentences of 15 years imprisonment in February over similar charges including joining an outlawed group, a reference to the Muslim Brotherhood. The verdict is final.Six defendants in the case were sentenced to life imprisonment in absentia. They remain at large and will be re-tried once they are apprehended.

(Sources: Ap, 15/04/2018)

09 April 2018 :

The death penalty for two students, Ahmed Amin al-Ghazali and Abd al-Basir, has been confirmed. The ruling, which denied the appeal of the two students in Case no. 174/2015, was issued by the Supreme Military Court of Appeals.In Case no. 174/2015, the Military Prosecution charged 28 people with intentional destruction, disclosure of defense secrets, and possession of weapons and explosives.

(Sources: cihrs.org, 26/03/2018)

06 April 2018 :

Three more men have been executed in Egypt for terrorism.Suleiman Eid Garabia and Rabhi Gomaa Hussein Hassan were executed by hanging. They were sentenced to death by Ismailiya’s military court in Case no. 382/2013 on February 24, 2015, with their appeal rejected on February 6 of this year. Ayed Suleiman Ayed was also executed last week, after being sentenced to death by hanging in 2014 by Ismailiya’s military court.

(Source: Egyptian Initiative for Personal Rights and Adalah Center for Rights and Freedoms)

12 March 2018 :

An Egyptian court sentenced 10 people to death after they were convicted of forming a terrorist group and planning attacks on police and security forces, judicial sources said.The court in Cairo also sentenced five people to life in prison. State news agency MENA said the convicted men were supporters of the Muslim Brotherhood which was banned in Egypt after the 2013 overthrow of former President Mohamed Mursi.March 10 rulings, which can be appealed, followed the referral of the death sentence to the Grand Mufti, Egypt's highest Sunni Muslim authority. Three of the sentences were passed in absentia.

(Source: Reuters, 10/03/2018)

06 April 2018 :

Seven executions were carried out for terrorism in Minya prison in one day.Mustafa Hamadah Ahmed Mohammed was hanged in the Case No. 1786 Crimes, Abu Tesht for the year 2014, 238 Qena 2014 and Hamdy Mohamed Taya Sayed in the case Case No. 814 crimes of the new section Beni Suef for the year 2013 1532 Beni Suef for the year 2012.Also Mohamed Shehata Hussein Hassan, Shazly Fayez Abulhasan Freij, Khadry Fahmy Abdel Naim Mohamed, Mohammed Jaber Freij Shehata, Bashandi Jaber Asran Shehata were executed in Minya prison for the Case No. 3409, crimes of the Qena Center for 2014 710 Qena for the year 2014.

(Source: AOHR)

22 February 2018 :

Cairo criminal court headed by Chancellor Shabeb Al-Damarany sentenced 21 defendants to death in the case known publicly by “Damietta terrorist cell”. Moreover, the court sentenced 4 defendants to life in prison, and 3 others to 15 years with hard labor in the same case.Cairo Criminal Court started hearings in the case in April 2016. The prosecution referred the defendants to trial on charges of establishing a terrorist group, intention to disrupt state institutions and to destroy public and private properties.They were also charged with manufacturing explosive materials and explosive devices and obtaining five automatic guns and ammunition without authorization.

(Sources: en.el-balad.com, 22/02/2018)

20 February 2018 :

Giza Criminal Court sentenced 4 defendants to death in the case known publicly by “Awsim cell”.Moreover the court sentenced 14 defendants to 15 years with hard labor in the same case.The prosecution referred the defendants to the criminal court on charges of forming a terrorist cell that aimed to suspend the constitution and to attack public and private property and judges, endangering public peace and possessing firearms.

(Sources: en.el-balad.com, 19/02/2018)

01 February 2018 :

An Egyptian court has referred the case of 10 alleged Muslim Brotherhood members held on terrorism charges to the country's top religious authority, the Grand Mufti, for a non-binding opinion on whether they can be executed.The Giza Criminal Court said January 31 the 10 were charged with belonging to a terrorist group and planning attacks against the state. The verdict, set for March 10, can be appealed.

(Sources: Ap, 31/02/2018)

03 January 2018 :

Egyptian prison authorities executed five inmates who had been sentenced to death, four of them over a bombing that killed military cadets, security officials said.The hangings came days after the execution of 15 inmates convicted of attacking police and the military in the largest mass execution in Egypt in recent memory.Four of those executed on January 2 - Lotfy Khalil, Sameh Abdalla, Ahmed Abdelhadi and Ahmed Salama- had been sentenced to death by a military court over a 2015 the bombing at a stadium north of Cairo that killed three military cadets.The fifth had been sentenced to death over a criminal matter, the sources said without elaborating.The other four had been accused of having links with the Muslim Brotherhood movement of former president Mohamed Morsi whom the army toppled in 2013 following protests against his single year in office.

(Sources: EgyptTurmoil, 02/01/2018)

02 February 2018 :

the West Cairo Military Court sentenced one person to death and four others to life in prison in relation to an attack on the Embassy of Niger in Giza in July 2015, in which one policeman was killed. The court sentenced 12 other defendants to 10 years in prison and 13 others to three years imprisonment. Defendants in the case faced a number of charges, including murder, joining a terrorist organization, plotting to overthrow the regime and weapons possession.After the court recommended that they be sentenced to death last month, the files of defendants Mohamed Hendawy and Sara Abdallah were referred to the grand mufti — the country’s chief religious cleric — who issues non-binding opinions on whether or not executions should be carried out.However, only Hendawy was sentenced to death on Monday, while Abdalla was sentenced to life in prison along with three others. Her sister, Rana Abdalla, who is also a defendant in the case, was sentenced to three years in prison.

Liz Throssell, the spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights released the following statement: “We are deeply shocked that 20 people are reported to have been executed in Egypt since last week.On 2 January, five men who had been sentenced to death by an Egyptian military court were hanged in Alexandria. Four of them had been convicted in relation to an explosion near a stadium in the city of Kafr al-Sheikh on 15 April 2015 that killed three military recruits and injured two others.We understand the defendants were tried by military judges on the basis of legislation that refers cases of destruction of public property to military courts and in view of the victims being from the Egyptian Military Academy.On 26 December, 15 men convicted on terrorism charges were reportedly executed. They had been found guilty by a military court of killing several soldiers in Sinai in 2013.Civilians should only be tried in military or special courts in exceptional cases. In addition, it is important that all necessary measures are taken to ensure that such trials take place under conditions which genuinely afford the full guarantees stipulated in article 14 of the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights to which Egypt is a State party. These include having a fair and public hearing by a competent, independent and impartial tribunal and that everyone charged with a criminal offence has the right to be presumed innocent until proven guilty.We are seriously concerned that in all these cases, due process and fair trial guarantees do not appear to have been followed as military courts typically deny defendants’ rights accorded by civilian courts. In cases of capital punishment, trials must meet the highest standards of fairness and due process. Reports also indicated that the prisoners who were executed may have been subjected to initial enforced disappearance and torture before being tried.Despite the security challenges facing Egypt - in particular in Sinai - executions should not be used as a means to combat terrorism.We call on the Egyptian authorities to reconsider the use of death penalty cases in accordance with their international human rights obligations and to take allnecessary measures to ensure that violations of due process and fair trial are not repeated.”

The Egyptian parliament approved a new draft law raising the punishment of possessing explosives up to execution when used in terrorist attacks, the parliament said in a statement."Life imprisonment shall be the penalty inflicted on whoever possesses explosives, obtains, makes or imports them before obtaining a license therefor, and the penalty shall be up to capital punishment if the explosives are used in a crime committed for a terrorist purpose," said the approved amendment of Article 102 A of Egypt's Penal Code.According to the draft law, those who possess material used for making explosives and those who know about the aforementioned crimes and cover them will be handed up to life imprisonment, which is a 25-year jail term in the Egyptian law."Under the draft law, buildings and properties used in these crimes are to be seized if they are owned by the perpetrators," the parliament said.

The Egyptian Parliament's foreign affairs committee issued a statement strongly rejecting a resolution by the European Parliament on executions in Egypt, warning that the use of human rights matters to place restrictions on Egypt must stop.Tarek Radwan, the head of the foreign affairs committee, said in the statement that the resolution reveals an "ignorance of the real conditions in Egypt", and that it is a violation of the principle of non-intervention in the internal affairs of other countries."Egypt has the full right to choose its legal and judicial system," the statement read."The [Egyptian] Parliament rejects any dictations to amend national laws that have been drafted by elected representatives in accordance with the constitution, and [which] evolve from the social context as well as security threats in the country."The European Parliament issued the resolution on 8 Februrary, expressing concerns that "strict procedures are in place within the country’s legal system in cases where the death penalty is applicable."The European Parliament highlighted what it called a "significant rise in the number of people sentenced to death in Egypt since 2014," referring to around 1,857 individuals who have received the sentence since January 2014.The EU legislative body also demanded that Egyptian defendants facing the death penalty be afforded "full access to legal representation and a fair trial in accordance with accepted international standards," and condemned "the use of the death sentence to suppress opposition."Responding to that, the Egyptian Parliament's statement said that "stopping the death penalty is not an international commitment, nor a subject of consensus among countries."The committee's statement stressed that, due to the severity of death penalty, Egyptian law contains number of procedures that guarantee the accused a fair trial with full space to defend themselves in accordance with international standards.The committee also stated that military trials, which exist in many countries, offer the same guarantee of rights as the regular judiciary, but handle crimes related to the armed forces."Imposing concepts that are incompatible with other societies' prevailing social and cultural values is an act of arrogance," the committee added. The European Parliament acknowledged Egypt's fragile security situation, citing "a high risk of terrorist attacks in the Sinai Peninsula and major cities across the country by various jihadi organisations."The European Parliament also said that it considers Egypt an important partner and that the EU countries have a shared interest in "defeating the threat to regional and international security."The statement also expressed support for "further offers to help the Egyptian authorities develop robust intelligence and security mechanisms, in line with international law, including measures relating to crowd control and legitimate, peaceful protest."The Egyptian parliament's response questioned the timing of the resolution, citing Egypt's upcoming presidential elections and ongoing comprehensive military operation against terrorism in Sinai, which was launched last week.The timing "raises many questions on the credibility of some participants in the war against terrorism, and reveals the real intentions of those who claim partnership with the south of the Mediterranean, and those who make claims supporting stability in the Middle East region," according to the Egyptian parliament.

(Sources: Ahram Online, 18/02/2018)

26 February 2018 :

according to Human Right Watch 2018 Report: “Since July 2013, Egyptian criminal courts have sentenced over 800 people to death. The Cassation Court, Egypt’s highest appellate court, has overturned many of those sentences and ordered retrials. In 2017, the Cassation Court upheld death sentences of 22 persons at least, who remain on death row, while 103 more death sentences were awaiting final court decisions at time of writing. Military courts have issued over 60 death sentences of civilians since July 2013 and 19 of those sentences were confirmed by the Supreme Military Court of Appeals in 2017 raising the number of civilians executed in military courts to 25.”

(Sources: hrw.org)

05 February 2018 :

the number of civilians sentenced to death in Egypt's military courts leapt from 60 in 2016 to at least 112 in 2017, according to two independent rights groups. Human rights advocates say the alarming numbers recorded by the Egyptian Coordination for Rights & Freedoms and the Initiative for Personal Rights are shocking -- but the stories behind them are even more harrowing. The Egyptian Coordination for Rights and Freedoms reports that more than 13,000 civilians have already gone through military courts since 2013 -- with 106 of those civilians receiving the death penalty.

Hands off Cain is an international league of citizens and parliamentarians for the abolition of the death penalty in the world. It is a non-profit, non-violent, transnational and trans-national Partito Radicale founded in Brussels in 1993 and recognized in 2005 by the Italian Ministry of Foreign Affairs as a development co-operation NGO.